Img. ID: 332849
Text column no. 4 is flanked by two illustrative panels on either side (nos. 6 and 7 on the right and nos. 8 and 9 on the left). Illustrations nos. 6-9 are labeled in Hebrew.
Illustration no. 6 is captioned וימלא המן חמה ("Haman full of wrath", Es. 3:5). It shows the bearded Haman standing in the center of the frame, with Mordecai on the right. While other people are bowing to Haman, Mordecai is standing straight and not even looking at him.
Illustration no. 7 is inscribed בחדש הראשון... הפיל פור ("In the first month... he cast Pur [that is the lot]", Es. 3:7). The scene shows Haman in the center, watching a man cast a trio of dice on the table. Other people in the illustration, including a plump woman (possibly is Haman's wife, Zeresh) are looking at Haman and the lottery. The figure of the woman is an example of irony and a specific sense of humor characteristic for Geismar's drawings.
Illustration no. 8 is inscribed ויזעק זעקה גדולה ומרה ("and [Mordecai] cried with a loud and a bitter cry", Es. 4:1). This scene shows Mordecai in a chequered sackcloth robe, with a scroll in his pocket (likely representing the decree against Jews). He is crying, with both hands lifted up to the sky in anguish. Children behind him cover their ears with their hands. In the background, two Assyrian Lamassu (human-headed winged bulls) statues flank the city gate.
Illustration no. 9 is not captioned. It shows four Jewish men and two women in chequered robes (sackcloth) who are kneeling, crying, and praying (Es. 4:3).
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Servants bowing down before Haman (Es. 3:2)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Haman casting the lot/Pur (Es. 3:7)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Mordecai in mourning (Es. 4:1)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Jews mourning and praying (Es. 4:3)
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The scroll is preserved intact.
The Book of Esther in Hebrew
The scroll is formed of 3 paper sheets containing 12 columns of the text with 42 lines, except for col. 10 with 11 lines divided into two parts.
The text of the Book of Esther with the vocalization is printed in the Ashkenazi stam script with tagin, in black ink. It reflects the text copied by an expert scribe and it shows scribal practices of typical Ashkenazi megillot, e.g. enlarged and diminished letters in Haman's sons section, enlarged letters ח (Es. 1:6) and ת (Es. 9:29).
A short biography and Geismar's immigration card are available https://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/bearing-witness/esther-scroll.asp (accessed on 24.10.2020).
Other exemplars of the megillah sharing the same illustrations are stored in the Jewish Museum in Prague (inv. nos. 095.541, 084.999, and 178.216 - ID no. 36312), in the MAHJ in Paris (Inv. 2009.17.015 and Inv. 2000.16.169), in the JTS Library in New York (S282 and S474), and other institutional and private collections.
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